HSI applauded the adoption of Resolution 15 on Cetaceans and Ecosystem services at the International Whaling Commission, noting the increasing research that shows that whales positively enhance marine ecosystem productivity by recycling essential nutrients.

Ahead of the 65th meeting of the International Whaling Commission, HSI celebrated the whales spared in the three decades since the international moratorium on commercial whaling, but called for IWC member nations to condemn the willful disregard of the ban by Japan, Iceland and Norway.

HSI applauded the European Parliament for adopting a resolution on Japan’s decision to resume whaling in the 2015-2016 season. By voting for the resolution, MEPs voiced their support for the maintenance of the global moratorium on commercial whaling. They urge Japan to cease its ‘scientific’ whaling activities and to commit to its international obligations regarding the protection of marine mammals.

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International

In a letter to President Obama dated March 31, 2016, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and The HSUS called for an end to Japan’s commercial whaling and urged the U.S. federal government to take additional steps to address this critical issue.

HSI condemned Japan’s resumption of whaling in the Southern Ocean as contrary to the 2014 International Court of Justice judgment that rejected Japan’s claim that such whaling was scientific and thus exempt from the global moratorium on commercial whaling.

In a historic victory for whales, the federal court in Australia has found Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku guilty of contempt of court for killing minke whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary, in breach of a 2008 injunction and Australian law.

HSI welcomed the declaration by an independent expert panel convened by the International Whaling Commission that declared that Japan has failed to justify plans to resume its banned ‘scientific’ whaling in the Antarctic.

With the 65th meeting of the International Whaling Commission set to begin 15 September in Portoroz, Slovenia, pro-conservation countries prepared once again to take on Japan and other pro-whaling nations.

HSI and The HSUS welcomed the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Japan’s whaling program is a breach of the global whaling moratorium and lacks scientific legitimacy in regard to the quotas set and the numbers taken.

Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell issued a formal declaration that Iceland is undermining the effectiveness of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and its prohibition on international commercial trade in whale products.

HSI welcomed the start of the hearings in Australia’s unprecedented case against Japan’s so-called ‘scientific whaling’ of minke and fin whales in the Antarctic at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

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Contributions to Humane Society International are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law in your country. HSI's tax identification number is 52-1769464. Donations made from the UK: HSI UK is registered in England and Wales as charity number 1098925, company number 4610194. Donations made from the Netherlands: HSI UK is regarded as an ANBI Charity under Dutch Fiscal Number 8241.63.072. Donations made in Canada: donations to HSI Canada are not tax-deductible. Non-profit organizations in Canada that lobby to change government policy are generally denied charitable status.